March 27th - Expectations

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

(Hebrews 11:6)

We strive to believe with our whole heart that He is who He says He is; that He is God Almighty. And if we earnestly seek Him, then He will reward us, right? Yes, but…

Expectations. How they can trip us up in our walk. We can so easily start to define what our lives should look like as He “rewards” us for our faith and diligence. We begin to expect less stress, less pain, less illness, less heartbreak, more answers to our prayers, even miraculous answers. Surely our lives will just get better & better.

Ever so slowly, we begin to change our focus from Him and His plans and purposes, to ourselves and our comfort and pleasure. We begin to see any heartbreak in life as “undeserved;” any difficulty as “unnecessary.” We can be caught off guard.

How can we keep our hearts full of faith when the unexpected shatters our world? In spite of any circumstance we face, we can choose to “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). Nothing takes Him by surprise. Jesus tells us not to worry about our tomorrows (Matthew 6:34). All our futures are under His sovereign control and direction.

Psalm 118:24 directs: “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” What we can know for sure is that we have been given this moment, this day, to live. In child-like faith, we can choose to walk joyfully through this day, hand in hand with Him, and leave all the worries of our tomorrows in His loving and trustworthy care.

Let’s come to Him with all the trust a child has in an all-wise Father. Let’s rejoice today, giving Him all our expectations for tomorrow, certain that our prayers are being answered in His way, in His time and in His plan.

Today’s Action:

Let’s read Proverbs 27 together, welcoming its reinforcement in wisdom for our lives.

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

(Proverbs 27:1)